Can’t decide if you should upgrade to Vista? Thinking about going the OS X route? Before you do anything drastic you might want to check in on Ubuntu. This popular desktop Linux distribution just had a major release, 8.04 “Hardy Heron”. This is a long-term support (LTS) version so it will be supported for three years on the desktop and five on servers.

Hardy Heron had been in beta for a number of weeks before the release and we gave it a test run at the beginning of the month. It is recognized as being a big release for the distro, not just because it is an LTS, but also because of the inclusion of Wubi, GNOME 2.22, umenu, and more. Plus, the timing is excellent as Vista is still looking problematic for many people (something that even casual users now understand) and the recent growth in Apple market share has let people understand that it’s OK to run a non-Windows operating system. The facts that it’s free and it’s starting to look pretty nice don’t hurt either.

Reader Comments

I prefer KDE, and I have just got Kubuntu 8.04 KDE4 version installed & it looks very polished.

Ubuntu is simple and very good for beginners, but I prefer the glossy KDE look.

If you want a desktop that looks more like XP/Vista then I'd suggest KDE4 over Gnome.

It now seems to have all the missing control panel items that the beta versions missed. So far so good.

I had to enable restricted and 3rd party repositories in Adept package manager, download and enable Nvidia glx driver, then full resolution of my monitor worked fine

(a newish 1680×1050 one, which caused issues in the beta versions).

DivingDancer

99.9999% of the computing public has NO idea what you just said. KDE? Kubuntu? Gnome? What's Adept? For that matter what's a package manager? And the graphics drivers didn't just work? GLX?

And this is why Linux is not yet ready for the mainstream.

Don't get me wrong. I love Linux. I'm running both Ubuntu and Gentoo on my servers and desktops. But anybody that thinks that my mother is going to be happy running it in place of Windows is misguided.

SalCan

Diving, I have to say I disagree with you, and based on personal experience, I can say that my parents do prefer Linux.

Just to keep things short-

1- People don't have to know the difference between KDE or GNOME to enjoy the OS. If they are looking for that "it just works" experience then the differences between MS Office/OOo, KDE/GNOME, even Windows/Linux probably don't matter to them, let alone the small stuff that we might argue over. It it works when they need it to when most casual users are more than happy to accept a few differences.

Tell them that they have to do work in the terminal though, and yeah, Linux isn't so great any more. But you don't really have to worry about that any more.

2- My parents were plagued with Windows problems as soon as a month or so after they bought their Dell. The system was always acting up- either getting filled with crap or being completely bogged down, to the point they wouldn't want to use it. I spent HOURS troubleshooting and fixing it, until I finally put on Linux (mandrake at the time and later Ubuntu). I got the system set up and they never looked back. Yes, they have simple demands (just email, internet, word processing, music, videos, etc) but they are typical home users. I feel like many people could benefit from this move, especially if they have someone who know the differences between KDE and GNOME in order to help out from time to time.

OpenSauce

I have come across a few glitches with KDE4; could be my specific hardware, will be testing on other platforms.

Not quite stable enough for mainstream office rollout.

Linux IS ready for the mainstream.

I keep seeing statements along the lines of "Your average user would struggle to install Linux".

As someone who builds PCs, 90% or more of your average users can't install Windows (XP or Vista).

Most people buy with an OS installed. That's how I provide Linux based PCs.

Command Line – I've lost count how many times I've asked users to type IPCONFIG/ALL…

Like SalCan, have my life drained away rebuilding peoples Windows boxes; the slowdown after 6 months is a favourite.

I have customers who have had their old PC upgraded from 98/Me to Ubuntu have commented how easy it is to use. (They usually have new XP/Vista boxes too).

Linux is not the answer to everything, but those who have never use Windows or Mac, or users willing to learn something new, it's worth a try.